NBA

The all-star festivities are in full swing.

First up, it was actually a game of H-O-R-S-E.  Many had been calling for this event at all-star weekend, considering how it’s cool to see the pros play what so many (regular) people play in their own driveway.  So to kick off the event — it was Kevin Durant, O.J. Mayo, & Joe Johnson.  And this was no ordinary game of hoops.  They were hitting some things that no mere mortal could match.  And in the end, it was Kevin Durant that reigned supreme in the first annual All-Star Horse Contest.

Next up, the annual rookies vs. sophomores game, where last year’s rookies take on this year’s class.  The sophomores win every year, which makes sense because they’ve been so exposed to the rigors of the league.  But Michael Beasley and this year’s incoming class were hoping to re-write the book.  Nope.  The sophomores did their thing again, led by the Oklahoma City Thunder’s Kevin Durant.  He scored 46 points, while Michael Beasley led the way for the rooks with 29.  We’ll see if the freshman can break the streak next year.  Sophomores 122, Freshman 116.

Then, it was time for the MAIN EVENT.  The Slam Dunk Contest.  This year was much anticipated as it had two past winners competing:  The Knicks’ Nate Robinson and The Magic’s Dwight Howard.  Last year, Dwight Howard did his now famous “Superman Dunk”, in which he put on full cape and costume and dunked from the foul line.  So this year, everyone was in anticipation of what he’d do next.  The other contestants were the Nuggets’ J.R. Smith and the Trail Blazers’ Rudy Fernandez.  But they were quickly eliminated, and it came down to the former champs.  Dwight Howard revisited his Superman costumer — this time actually entering a phone booth and transforming Clark Kent style.  Then, he brought in another basketball goal post, and dunked on an 11 FOOT RIM.  But — it wouldn’t be enough, as it was Nate Robinson who brought the house down.  He actually borrowed Dwight Howard for his final dunk, and then jumped over the 6’11 monster.  There’s never been a dunk over an actual contestant before.  The crowd loved it, and Nate Robinson took home the trophy.

WOMEN’S GOLF

The SBS Open came down to a battle between the youngster, Michelle Wie, and the veteran Angela Stanford.  This was Wie’s first professional tournament, and many had wondered how she’d fare, and to be in the top two at the very end is an extraordinary accomplishment.  But, Wie is still inexperienced at this level, and didn’t handle the pressure too well.  She had some nasty choke shots from the bunker, and Angela Stanford took this opportunity to seal up and win the match.  Wie was of course frustrated, but she has a very long career ahead of her.

NBA

It was a nail-biter between the Boston Celtics and Dallas Mavericks.  The Mavs Dirk Nowitski had an incredible game, scoring 37 points, but he only had six of those points in the 4th quarter.  So when the Mavs needed him most, he was just 2-of-8 from the field.  The Celtics Rajon Rondo picked up his second career triple-double (19 points, 15 rebounds, 14 assists), but the man of the night was the Celtics Paul Pierce who helped the Celtics rally from 15 points down to edge the Mavericks in the end.  He finished the night with 31 points, as the Celtics improve to 44-11.  Boston 99, Dallas 92.

COLLEGE BASKETBALL

Something happened that nobody saw coming this season.   Every year UCLA either has a dominant team or at least a very good team.  This year, they fall in the very good category.  Their Pac-10 counterpart, Arizona State, is almost always at the bottom rung of the conference.  This year ASU is pretty decent.  They’re ranked #18, mainly because of James Harden, the Pac 10’s leading scorer.  ASU won the first meeting, and last night they beat the Bruins again to sweep the season series.  James Harden had 15 points and 11 assists. Also, Arizona State is having a better year than Arizona.  Now that’s rare.   Arizona State 74, UCLA 67.

GOLF

Michelle Wie made her debut in the world of PROFESSIONAL women’s golf.  She is now a full fledged member of the LPGA, and everyone wanted to see what she could do.  Wie burst onto the golf scene when she was just 14, and has been turning eyes ever since. Now… she’s 19, and ready to hang with the Big Girls in the SBS Open.  And in her first outing, she’s just one stroke behind the leader, 31-year-old Angela Stanford.  Wow!  She could actually win this thing.  We’ll keep you posted on her efforts.

BASEBALL

Finally, some exciting news out of baseball.  Ken Griffey Jr. is definitely nearing the end of his career.  He’s been plagued by injuries for the past 8 years, and it looks more and more likely that he won’t grab that World Series ring on his way out.  However, his agent is supposedly talking to the Seattle Mariners.  Griffey was absolutely beloved in Seattle during their heydey in the mid 90s.  Not necessarily a performance heydey, but that’s when they really turned the franchise around and beat the New York Yankees in that exciting first round playoff game.  Griffey was a hero that season, and he was always good with the fans and community.  They worshiped him in a Brett Favre way.  And he just might go back there to close out his career.  It sure would feel good to get a standing ovation for every at bat.

NFL

It’s the end of an era.  After all the pre-season gossip, followed by a trade, then a heroic season, concluded by a disappointing downfall.  Yep — Brett Favre is officially OFFICIALLY retiring from the NFL.  And the 39-year-old quarterback didn’t do it with any fanfare this time around — no gigantic media conferences.  He did it via conference call believe it or not.  The Jets said they would like to have him back, Favre said he appreciates it, but then said, “It’s time to leave”.  This marks the end of a fantastic career and a wonderful time period in football.  Plus, you had to be impressed by him this past season.  He turned a struggling Jets team around, even led them to a win against the then undefeated Tennessee Titans.  Congratulations, Brett Favre.  You will be missed.

COLLEGE BASKETBALL

It was time once again for the classic vicious rivalry — which some call the most heated rivalry in sports.  That’s right — #3 UNC v. #5 Duke.  And this game was played at an extremely frenetic pace.  No slow drives — just a lot of back and forth fast breaks.  Tyler Hansbrough had a great game for the Tar Heels with 17 points, but it was their guard Ty Lawson that really put on a show.  He had 25 points and five assists, as the Tar Heels take the first round of this season’s rivalry.  Rematch coming soon.  UNC 101, Duke 87.

Elsewhere in college basketball, the Syracuse Orange were looking to upset the #1 UCONN Huskies.  Coming into the game, UCONN had won 11 straight, but Syracuse has looked great this season, and some thought they could pull off the shocker.  Nope — not even close.  UCONN’s point-guard A.J. Price led the way for the Huskies with 17 points, and their dominant defensive center, Hasheem Thabeet had only 8 points, but 16 rebounds and 7 blocks.  An outstanding performance by the big guy last night.  Going into the March Madness, you have to like UCONN with a defensive powerhouse guarding the paint like that.  UCONN 63, Syracuse 49.

NBA

Newly added all-star Mo Williams looked to show off his new proud status against the Phoenix Suns.  For LeBron and the Cavs, it’s been a load off to have someone else carrying some weight for the team.  And that’s exactly what Mo Williams sets out to do every night.  He was once again amazing, scoring 29 points in the first half alone.  LeBron put up a handsome 26 points on the night, but Mo Williams continues to rack up those points, finishing with 44 for the game.  It’s safe to say that Mo Williams continues to prove that he is a bonafide all-star in this league.  It will be fun to watch him on all-star weekend.  Cleveland 109, Phoenix 92.

NHL

Oddly, the lead story in the sports world last night was from… hockey.  The Boston Bruins are the hottest team in the NHL right now, and have been scorching their opponents.  And last night, they would take on the best team in the West, the San Jose Sharks, for a possible preview of the Stanley Cup Finals.  Boston’s Milan Lucic had two goals in the game, but those would be the Bruins only goals.  San Jose’s Patrick Marleau had a goal and an assist on the  night, as the Sharks crushed the Bruins to truly establish that they are the league’s best team.  San Jose 5, Boston 2.

NBA

Toronto Rapters star forward, Chris Bosh, will be unable to play in the all-star game due to injury.  And his replacement will be… the Cavs’ Mo Williams.  This is HUGE, and here’s why.  Many criticized the selection committee for not picking Mo Williams because he’s not a ‘name’ player — that he wouldn’t attract ratings or whatever.  But Williams has been crucial to Cleveland’s success this year, and definitely deserved a spot on that team.   Now that he’s on the roster, it should restore faith in the idea that if a player is having a great season, he should be on the floor in the all-star game regardless of his level of fame.

Elsewhere in the NBA, an extremely high scoring affair between the New York Knicks and Golden State Warriors.  The Warriors had not 1, not 2, not 3, but 8 PLAYERS IN DOUBLE-FIGURES.  Stephen Jackson led the way with 35 points and 10 assists.  On New York’s side, point guard Nate Robinson had 30 points, and 2nd year player David Lee  had 27.  When we reveal this final score, please realize that this game did NOT go into overtime.  It was the highest combined point total of the season at 271 points.  Golden State 144, New York 127.

BASEBALL

The New York Yankees Derek Jeter has publicly stated that he plans to talk about the A-Rod Steroid situation only once.  He said he wants to wait until the whole team is together for training camp before he comments on the drama, and that he will only have one official session to discuss it.  He will answer any questions about the Yankees or baseball, just don’t ask him about A-Rod.  Everyone on the Yankees was surprised by the reports, but there is a general team sentiment that they want to put this behind them, and focus on the season ahead.  In case you didn’t notice, they haven’t won a World Series in a while.

MLB

A-Rod made it official yesterday, as he admitted to taking PED’s (steroids essentially) from 2001 – 2003.  He said he felt enormous pressure when he signed with the Texas Rangers to become the highest paid player in baseball history.  He wanted to prove that he deserved this amazing amount of cash, as well as the title of the “Highest Paid Player” in history.  He admits he was naive and says he feels terrible and guilty about the whole thing.  Finally one day he stopped when he hurt his neck, and realized that continuing to play through injury (with the aid of substances) could hurt not only the future of his career, but also his post-career — his life.  Since stopping with the substances, A-Rod has played his best baseball — winning two MVPs in that time period.

NFL

The Dallas Cowboys also made an official move yesterday, releasing Adam “PacMan” Jones from the team.  There was a lot of speculation that this would happen, and then they mentioned it publicly that they would most likely split ways due to his countless legal problems.  But yesterday, they finally threw the fish back into the water making Jones a free agent yet again.  PacMan was signed by the Cowboys last off-season, mostly as a PR move.  Cowboys owner Jerry Jones likes to call as much attention to his franchise in the off-season, and signing PacMan definitely gave him the media spotlight he craved.  We’ll have to see what Jerry Jones comes up with this off-season.

NBA

Some very bad news for the Minnesota Timberwolves.  They were in a rebuilding year with a young team that was getting better and better.  And at the core of this effort was Al Jefferson.  He came over in the trade for Kevin Garnett, and is emerging as one of the best players in the league.  However, it looks like the T-Wolves will be without Jefferson for the remainder of the season.  He’s out with a torn ACL.  So it looks like the T-Wolves will have to work with what they’ve got.  And now, rookie Kevin Love, will definitely get more minutes to prove why he was their top pick.

Finally, some good news for the Philadelphia 76ers, as their rookie, Marreesse Speights, had a career night against the Phoenix Suns.  He had 24 points, but more notably, was prominently featured in the line-up.  Their second year guy, Thaddeous Young, had 30 points on the night, and these two sensations look like the future of the organization.  It’s immensely satisfying for a franchise when the draft picks come to life.  But what’s even more exciting — when they mature much faster than expected.  Speights wasn’t supposed to blossom for a couple seasons, so to get this much productivity from him this soon has Philly fans psyched.  Philadelphia 108, Phoenix 91.

MLB

The major story of the day is from the baseball world.  It appears that Alex Rodriguez, the Yankees star slugger, tested positive for steroids in 2003.  These tests are supposed to remain private, but apparently this one leaked out.  Now… that doesn’t prove that he’s still on steroids or that Major League Baseball will pursue any action against him.  Most notable about this test is that “steroids” will always be tied to A-Rod’s name.  Alex Rodriguez was supposed to break Barry Bonds career home run record.  He was supposed to reclaim this precious milestone and clean it off (i.e. no steroid usage attached).  But now — A-Rod is theoretically just as tarnished as Bonds.  This guy just can’t become likable no matter how hard he tries.

COLLEGE BASKETBALL

Duke just can’t get into a rhythm.  They might be #3 in the nation, but they struggled against unranked Miami AT HOME.  They were down 32-19 at the half, and needed a second half surge to force the game into overtime.  Jack McClinton had a fantastic game for the Hurricanes with 34 points, but it just wasn’t enough as Duke eeked out a win in overtime.  Jon Scheyer led the way for the Blue Devils with 22 points, but Duke looks extremely fragile right now — prone to lose at anytime.  Look for them to possibly get upset early come March Madness.  Duke 78, Miami 75.

Elsewhere in college basketball, it was #1 UCONN v. the Michigan Wolverines.  In the early 90s this would have been a much anticipated game, but Michigan has fallen off ever since getting in trouble for players taking gifts (major gifts).  Their star, NBA bound center, Hasheem Thabeet led the way with a double-double (17 points and 12 rebounds), and UCONN got their 11th straight win.  They seem to have found their stride, and look unbeatable now.  However, the Big East is FULL of teams that can surprise you if you’re not ready — and they’ll all be gunning for UCONN during the home stretch.  UCONN 69, Michigan 61.

NBA

Finally, some trade news in the NBA.  The Charlotte Bobcats are sending Adam Morrison to the Lakers for Vladamir Radmonovich.  This is notable because Adam Morrison was such a superstar in college for Gonzaga, and there were many speculations that Morrison might be the next Larry Bird.  Well, first year Bobcats owner Michael Jordan (yes THE Michael Jordan) selected Morrison #3 overall in the NBA Draft over the likes of that year’s rookie-of-the-year Brandon Roy, and the high-flying Rudy Gay.  Since being drafted, Morrison hasn’t done much.  And he missed his whole second year with a knee injury.  This year, he’s apparently not getting along with coach Larry Brown, and they just had to ship him out of there.  He was a failed experiment, and now the Lakers are hoping he could be a 3-point threat off the bench.  Hopefully, Morrison can salvage his career in Los Angeles.  And maybe Jordan shouldn’t handle the drafting any more.

NBA

A much anticipated match-up, as the Portland Trailblazers traveled to Oklahoma City to take on the Thunder.  However, this was less a battle between the two teams, and more about the first showdown between Greg Oden & Kevin Durant.  There was A LOT of debate as to which guy should go #1 in the 2007 NBA Draft.  Oden won that debate, and then got injured before the season started.  Portland fans were worried he would be a bust.  This year he’s been pretty decent, but Durant has been outstanding.  And he sure proved it last night.  Durant had 31 points compared to Oden’s… 4, and the Thunder finally broke their 3-game losing streak.  Oklahoma City 102, Portland 93.

Elsewhere in the NBA, sources say that the Phoenix Suns are looking to trade either Amare Stoudamire, Shaquille O’ Neal, or both.  Now is the time as both players made the all-star team, but the main reason is to shed money from their payroll.  And dispensing Shaq or Amare would free up some much needed room to possibly land a key free agent next year.  Plus, they wouldn’t mind stockpiling some draft picks.  We’ll see how this develops, as it should be a lot of trading before the February 19th deadline.

NFL

Todd Haley was officially named head coach of the Kansas City Chiefs.  Haley was the offensive coordinator of the Arizona Cardinals, one of the most explosive passing offenses this season.  They had three wide receivers who had more than 1,000 receiving yards on the year (Larry Fitzgerald, Anquan Boldin, Steve Breaston). He even called the job “an ideal situation” (always good first words).  They’ve got an exciting young quarterback in Tyler Thigpen (although they may look to draft Georgia’s Matt Stafford) a speedy down field threat in Dwayne Bowe, and a versatile tight end in Tony Gonzalez.  Plus, KC takes their football very seriously — and a coaching change can really ignite a dedicated fan base.

WOMEN’S COLLEGE BASKETBALL

Pat Summitt, the head coach of the Tennessee Lady Volunteers, did what’s never been done in NCAA basketball (both men’s and women’s).  She has been coaching since January 10, 1975, when she coached her first game at Tennessee.  Since then she has won eight National Championships, and last night she went for the milestone:  1000 Career Wins.  Could Georgia stand in her way?  Um, no.  Tennessee routed the Lady Bulldogs, and then dumped a bucket of confetti on their Hall of Fame head coach.  This is a truly impressive achievement for both Pat Summitt and college sports in general.  Tennessee 73, Georgia 43.

NBA

The NBA was no slouch in terms of headlines, as Kobe Bryant and the Lakers traveled east to take on the streaking Celtics.  The Celts have won 12 in a row, but back in December the Lakers ended the Celtics 19 game winning streak.  Now the C-men were looking for revenge on their home court.  The game turned into an overtime showdown, but the Lakers had just a little more than the Celtics, and they pulled out a one-point victory. Paul Gasol put up 24 points, and had 14 rebounds, while Ray Allen scored 22 for the Celtics.  So the Lakers sweep the season series, but LA forward Lamar Odom said, “We won’t feel like we’ve gotten revenge until we beat them in a 7 game series in the championship”.  And there’s a strong possibility that this is exactly what we will see.  LA Lakers 110, Boston 109.

SWIMMING

For Michael Phelps, things just keep getting worse.  A picture of him smoking marijuana surfaced on the Internet and he’s been dealing with the bad press for the past week.  He’s publicly apologized, but people just can’t seem to let it go.  And today he was not only suspended by USA Swimming for three months, but he also lost Kelloggs as a sponsor.  For someone like Phelps, endorsements are extremely valuable.  And losing Kelloggs is like losing millions of dollars over the next couple years.  Sure, he’s got other sponsors happy with him, but to lose millions over a party photo taken in November is a true bummer.

NFL

The New England Patriots have placed the franchise tag on Matt Cassel.  In basic terms, this means that the Patriots have the right to match any offer another team makes to Cassel.  Tom Brady is their man, but there’s no guarantee that Brady comes back 100% next season.  He’s still recovering from a serious knee injury.  By placing a “franchise tag” on Cassel, it means that if they do in fact trade Cassel towards the beginning of next season, then they get at least two first round draft picks in return.  It’s a complicated concept, but the franchise tag is essentially just an expensive insurance policy on Tom Brady.  But Brady or Cassel… can either beat the Steelers defense next season?

NBA

LeBron James reminded us once again that he is LEBRON JAMES, as the Cavs traveled to New York City.  LeBron put up yet another triple-double this season and finished the night with 52 POINTS!  Now, he joins Michael Jordan as the two players to score more than 50 points in multiple games at Madison Square Garden.  Al Harrington had a nice game for the Kincks with 39 points, but New York still remains a sub-500 team, and their fans have no expectations of a playoff appearance.  Their team completely lacks stars, and are, coincidentally, hoping to land LeBron James (the man who keeps clobbering them), in the summer of 2010.  Cleveland 107, New York 102.

COLLEGE BASKETBALL

The Duke Blue Devils are one of the most unpredictable teams this season.  They have been sheltered in the top 5 for quite a while, and even moved to #1 last week.  However… whenever Duke comes to town, teams tend to step it up a notch.  Beating Duke is just more satisfying for some reason.  The latest victor — #10 Clemson.  And they didn’t just beat Duke with some last second heroics.  Nope, they absolutely crushed the Blue Devils.  Trevor Booker had 21 points for Clemson, and Duke only scored 47, their lowest point total since 1994… when they lost to Clemson.  Clemson 74, Duke 47.

SOCCER

And in soccer, it’s official, David Beckham has publicly said that he wants to end his time with the Los Angeles Galaxy and the MLS, and play full time for AC Milan.  Beckham came to the States a few years ago in an MLS attempt to jolt interest in the league.  But that experiment is apparently over now, as Beckham will inevitably become a permanent member of the elite Italian football club.

NFL

Finally, a little post Super Bowl NFL news.  The Oakland Raiders have officially made Tom Cable their head coach for next season.  Cable took over the team from Lane Kiffin early last season, and owner Al Davis liked his efforts and has awarded him the gig.  The most notable item from this headline is that this is the 5th head coach the Raiders have had since 2003 (when they went to the Super Bowl).  The others, in ascending chronological order:  Bill Callahan, Norv Turner, Art Shell, Lane Kiffin, and now Tom Cable.  So now the question is, will owner Al Davis be introducing a new coach in the winter of 2010?

NBA

The Celtics have been tearing through their schedule exactly like they did at the beginning of the year.  They had a quick losing skid, and have now returned to dominance.  Last night, the next team in their path — the Philadelphia 76ers.  However, the Celts were without Kevin Garnett for this one, and the Sixers had no intention of lying down and playing dead.  They got a superb game from Andre Iguodala.  He had 22 points, 6 rebounds, and 6 assists, and even put them up by two with 6 seconds to go.  But Ray Allen was the hero of the night.  He hit a last second 3-pointer to win the game, and give the Celtics their 12th straight game.  Boston 100, Philadelphia 99.

MLB

The Los Angeles Dodgers offered Manny Ramirez a one-year $25 million deal.  Now, in a bad economy, most of us would take $25 million dollars to work for a year.  But… not Manny.  He and his super agent, Scott Boras, rejected the offer.  Reportedly, they’re looking to get a four or five year contract at $25 million per year.  And they think that there are teams out there willing to pay the price.  Of course Manny will get a good deal of some kind, but any story where someone turns down $25 million for a 6 months of work is pretty curious.

SWIMMING

And Mr. Gold Medals, Michael Phelps, appeared in a photo with a marijuana joint in his mouth.  He caught a lot of flack and scrutiny about the photo, and has even apologized to the country and his fans.   It was a bonehead move, but seemed like a dead issue.  Nope.  Now apparently, the South Carolina police (where Phelps was at a house party smoking ‘the mary jane pipe) are thinking about filing charges against him.  Their narcotics division is looking into the photo to determine what possible charges they could bring.  And Phelps never tried to deny the photo.  He called his behavior “regrettable”, but never imagined he would have to worry (publicly) about the law.

NFL

Finally, the Super Bowl Champions held their victory parade yesterday in what was dubbed, “The Sixburgh Parade” — that moniker celebrating the Steelers 6th Super Bowl win in franchise history.  The parade drew 300,000 people, and even students were excusing themselves from school to attend.  One 12-year-old said she had “Steeler Fever”, and needed a day off to recover.  Even the police got into the spirit, as they whipped their yellow “terrible towels” all over the place.  Arizona, on the other hand… was quiet.